Recipe for :

This is one of the recipes that has been provided by Carmelita Caruana from Italy. Carmelita is involved in running cooking holidays in Italy and it is well worth visiting her website - www.cookitaly.com - to find out more.

Ingredients

1.5 litres water
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
250 g chick pea (garbanzo) flour
25 g butter
I teaspoon (or more to taste) freshly grated nutmeg
50g freshly grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper

• Put the water to boil in a large, deep pan. When it has come to the boil, add the salt and the parsley

• Now pour the chick pea flour in a constant thin stream, beat vigorously with a large wire whisk to prevent lumps forming.

• Change to a large wooden spoon and cook for 5 minutes stirring constantly, then pour the contents into an oiled baking pan - you are aiming for a layer about 1 cm (half an inch) thick, so choose the container accordingly. Leave to cool completely

• Preheat the oven to 200°C. Oil a baking dish for the panelle circles you are about to make.

• Using a pastry cutter or an appropriately sized thin lipped glass, cut circles out of the solidified chick pea/parsley mix, and place carefully in the oiled baking dish, overlapping them slightly

• Grate Parmesan, nutmeg and black pepper over the top, then place a dab of butter on each circle

• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, then brown the top briefly under the grill, and let rest 5 minutes before serving

Notes

• This is based on a recipe from Antonio Carluccio. He takes Sicilian fried chick pea flour Panelle, served as an antipasto in the area round Palermo, and transforms it with the North Italian flavours of butter, Parmesan, parsley and nutmeg. It is delicious, though not strictly classic regional cuisine!

• Semolina gnocchi, (Gnocchi alla Romana) are made in exactly the same way using semolina flour ("farina di grano duro" or "di semola") which are served with a tomato sauce topped with Parmesan.

Carmelita Caruana